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U.S. sanctions Colombian team Envigado for drug ties

BOGOTA, Colombia -- The U.S. has imposed sanctions on a popular Colombian football team for alleged ties to a drug cartel.

The Treasury Department on Wednesday placed Envigado and their owner, Juan Pablo Upequi, on the foreign narcotics kingpins list, freezing any U.S. assets they may have and barring Americans from doing business with them.

Upequi is accused of using the club as a front to launder money on behalf of the Office of Envigado, a violent cocaine-trafficking organisation that inherited the underworld connections of Pablo Escobar's Medellin cartel.

It's the second Colombian team to land on the blacklist. The other team, America de Cali, were removed from the list in 2013.

Envigado say their finances are open for inspection and have been fully audited by Colombian authorities.